What I Can't Change
by amillionsmiles
Summary: Lies are lies.  Spies are spies.  "But WE can change."  Liz takes fate into her own hands.  If she goes down, the Circle goes with her.


"I can't, Liz," Jonas choked. "Not when they're _dead."_ Jonas stood sobbing, an action Liz never thought she'd see.

"But _you're_ not," Liz comforted him. "It's up to us to do something." She vowed that she wouldn't break down. One of them needed to be strong, and in this scenario it looked like it was going to end up being her.

Surveying the wreckage, Liz noted that this wasn't what she'd been trained for. Give her a computer and she could hack into the best security in the world in under twenty minutes. But give her a bunch of broken bodies, and she didn't know what to do. Liz thought hard. What would Bex do? What would Cammie do? _Stay alive,_ was the resounding answer. They needed to hide, or they'd be next.

"Jonas, come on," Liz urged. Jonas followed her over to one of the hiding places that Liz remembered Cammie showing them only a few hours ago. Where was she? All of Liz's friends were missing: Macey, Cammie, and Bex. _Oh, Bex…_ Liz felt numb with grief. Of all of them, Bex had been the strongest, but she'd fallen the hardest. There was no return for Bex. Liz prayed that Macey and Cammie hadn't suffered the same fate. Bex died fighting. Now, Liz was going to exact some revenge on the Circle for taking away one of the few things she had left.

"Jonas, change of plans – we're going somewhere else," Liz said, grabbing his hand. She feared the deterioration of his mental state would leave him rooted to the spot. She pulled him along, ducking into corners every now and then, afraid they'd get caught. Finally, they reached her destination – a blank patch of wall underneath an air vent. There was no one in sight except for one man who didn't look like he'd ever see the light of day again. By his side lay a gun. "Jonas," Liz hissed, "grab the gun for me." Jonas looked bewildered, but obliged.

"Here."

"Is it loaded?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, now lift me up." Liz was glad that her lightness allowed Jonas to lift her up with ease. She fumbled but managed to lift the corners of the air vent. Turning to Jonas, she flashed him one last smile. "I need you to do me a favor. Mess with the security system – or _something, _but cause a distraction." Jonas blearily nodded. He looked up at her.

"Why are we doing this?" he asked in a whisper.

"Because lies are lies, and spies are spies. But _we_ can change," came the answer.

With a clang, Liz shut the grate behind her and crawled along, gun in hand. She could hear voices wafting up through the vent, and sensed that the other end of the vent opened up into the same room the voices were coming from. By the bits and pieces of conversation she caught, it was more people from the Circle.

Finally, she was over their heads. One lady stood amidst a throng of men, and by the looks of it, the woman was leader. _"_You still haven't found her?" she screeched in outrage. Heads bowed and feet shuffled. Liz sat back, hoping that no one could see her. Who were they looking for? And why was it taking so long for Jonas to set up the distraction? Then, as if by some miracle, it came.

Sirens flashed on and blared, making some of the men in the room below give a nervous jump. One man jogged in, breathing heavily. "Someone must've left the building! Or entered it!" The woman cursed.

"I thought the entrances and exits were being guarded! Go, get them before they call help!" The room emptied quickly, leaving only the woman standing in the room, alone. Liz trembled. This was her chance.

Silently, she slid the grate open, and dropped down lightly on her feet. The lady faced the doorway, so her back was to Liz, but as soon as Liz's feet touched the ground she spun around.

"Well then, they didn't catch everybody," she sneered. Liz summoned what little courage she had left and raised her gun.

"There's just me and you, so I wouldn't try anything," she warned, trying to make her voice strong. The lady looked at her with a smirk. _Where have I seen that before?_ Liz racked her brain.

"Wrong." The woman snapped her fingers, and a burly man emerged from the shadows, pointing a gun at Liz. "I don't know what they teach you in FieldOps, but you've got to remember to always watch the shadows." Liz felt frozen, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Now, I'm not going to kill you yet, because there's something I want. There's a girl somewhere in this building: Cameron Morgan. I think you know her. Tell me where she is, and maybe you'll walk out alive." _Cammie._ Liz rejoiced. If the lady was still searching, then that meant Cammie was okay. For the time being.

"So you do know her." The lady's words were a statement, not a question. She'd read the expression on Liz's face. "Tell me where she is."

A sudden thought struck Liz. _I could._ _I could tell her and walk away from all of this._ Liz stopped herself. If she gave up Cammie, she'd be giving up one of the few things she had left. Her thoughts flashed back to the conversation with Jonas.

_"Why are we doing this?"_

_"Because lies are lies, and spies are spies._ _But __**we **__can change." _Liz realized that she wasn't scared of dying. Not for what was right. Her hands were trembling, but her voice was firm.

"Okay," agreed Liz. And she pulled the trigger.


End file.
